Who Is It For?

97B Somatoform Disorders Flashcards Preview

Somatoform disorders

Category of disorders characterized by physical symptoms with no identifiable physical cause. Both illness production and motivation are unconscious drives. Symptoms not intentionally produced or feigned. More common in women.

2

Somatization disorder criteria

Variety of unexplained complaints in multiple organ systems (at least 4 pain, 2 GI, 1 sexual, 1 pseudoneurologic) over a period of years, developing before age 30 years leading to lots of medical procedures

3

Somatization course

chronic, fluctuating with high disability and costs; eventually goes away with increasing age

4

typical somatization patient

all chicks under 30 with low education and low SES with a long medical hx (including suicide attempts and psych comorbidities) and lots of allergies

how to treat somatization

Hypochondriasis

Preoccupation with and fear of having a serious illness despite medical evaluation and reassurance

7

Body dysmorphic disorder

Preoccupation with minor or imagined defect in appearance, leading to significant emotionaldistress or impaired functioning; patients often repeatedly seek cosmetic surgery

8

Conversion

-Sudden loss of sensory or motor function (e.g., paralysis, blindness, mutism), often followingan acute stressor; patient is aware of but sometimes indifferent toward symptoms (“la belleindifférence”); more common in females, adolescents, and young adults. -If male then look for real medical issue-psychiatric comorbidity common (somatoform)

9

management of conversion

use behavioral programs and scipts

10

Malingering

Patient consciously fakes or claims to have a disorder in order to attain a specific 2° gain (e.g.,avoiding work, obtaining drugs). Poor compliance with treatment or follow-up of diagnostic tests.Complaints cease after gain (vs. factitious disorder).

11

Factitious disorder

Munchausen’s syndrome

Chronic factitious disorder with predominantly physical signs and symptoms. Characterized by ahistory of multiple hospital admissions and willingness to receive invasive procedures.Often in medical field

13

Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy

When illness in a child or elderly patient is caused by the caregiver. Motivation is to assume a sickrole by proxy. Form of child/elder abuse.